You Only Die Twice
by Agent66
Summary: During a warehouse stakeout, Max is shot. Believed to be dead, Max is made to hideout in order to track a KAOS group. But will Max's heart lead him to danger as he breaks rules to see a distraught 99?
1. Chapter I

** YOU ONLY DIE TWICE**

****

**CHAPTER ONE**

The warehouse was quiet. It was nestled in the dark recesses of the city, only a few miles from the docks. But it was pretty much the rough neck of town. That would explain why the group that used it loved it. It was quiet. It was dark. And no one bothered them.  
  
Until tonight.  
  
Unknown to the group, someone HAD been watching them and had tipped off the agency of good, Control. The organization had been planning a raid for a couple of days now and were finally ready.  
  
At the helm of this operation was the Chief, Maxwell Smart, a former agent of the group himself. He had gotten the idea of the night from watching a rerun of The Streets of San Francisco. And it seemed to be going well. No one even knew they were out there. And though they had wanted to catch some unsuspecting member of their rivals at KAOS inside, they hadn't seen anyone in hours.  
  
Max didn't care. He wanted to hit this warehouse and go home. At 2 o'clock in the morning, he wanted to be in bed with his wife sleeping. But evil took no naps,nor did it sleep at night, so that's why he was there. Looking at his watch, he signaled some of the agents next to him to go ahead and move in. And like that, the warehouse was full of activity. Agents rushed in, came from the ceilings, entered in through windows. The Chief entered with the air of authority. "We're doing a search, sir," said one agent. "But it doesn't seem as though anyone's here."  
  
"Continue looking." Max replied. "I wanna make sure this warehouse is completely empty."  
  
The agents again spreaded out, looking any and everywhere for anything or anyone. Max began making his way to the back offices, looking around and checking corners. Most of the doors were opened and he glanced inside each, but saw no one. But in front of him was the only closed door in the hallway. Removing his gun from his jacket, he approached slowly and cautiously. Coming to a stop in front of the door, Max readied himself for anything. Mentally counting to three, he kicked the door.  
  
Rubbing his knee, he gave a dirty look to the still closed door.  
  
Standing and taking a deep breath, he again tried kicking it down. And unbelievably, it opened, surprising Max himself. Hugging the doorjam, he peered inside, before walking in, prepared to shoot. But no one was there. Feeling no danger and seeing no one, Max lowered his gun and smirked. It seemed Maxwell Smart had gotten the upper hand.  
  
Until he heard it.  
  
CLICK  
  
His smile immediately disappeared and he gulped. His heart began beating faster and his mind began spinning. Instincts were kicking in from years of being a top spy at Control, but he had to pick one that wouldn't get him killed. But along with his instincts, his fears were also kicking in, as was adrenaline. Spinning around, Max's gun was raised, ready to shoot. Unfortunately, one of the two gunmen's reaction was too slow.  
  
Maxwell Smart wouldn't have the upper hand tonight.  
  
It seemed like an eternity, but when the bullet hit him, it knocked him backwards and on to the floor. At first Max just thought he had been grazed, that he was suffering from shock. But then he felt the terrible pain coming from his chest and realized he was hit.  
  
Bad.  
  
Now, Max had been shot before, it came with being an international symbol of spies. He couldn't remember how many times he'd been shot in the arm, but the chest? He could't remember how many times he'd been shot in the chest. That was because he had never been shot in the chest before. Max winced as he took a breath. Things weren't going well at all. His breathing was shallow and he could hear agents in the background, but their voices were too far away. Everyone had split up and it would seem that Max was the only one to check out the back rooms.  
  
The room was dark, but things seemed to be getting darker. Max knew if he didn't keep his wits about him, he'd die on the very floor he lay. But it was getting hard to do. He was tired and he could barely keep his eyes open. The former agent managed to place his hand over the wound, to stop the bleeding, but it seemed too late. His shirt was soaked and he felt sticky from it coagulating around his back. His hand fell next to him. He couldn't keep this up.  
  
Before he knew it, the room grew dim, and Maxwell Smart was drowned in darkness.


	2. Chapter II

** You Only Die Twice**

****

CHAPTER TWO

Setting: The office of Chief Maxwell Smart. All was quiet, but soft sobbing could be heard, the only thing letting one know there were even occupants in the room. Maxine Smart and her sister-in-law, Tracie Lewis-Smart sat on the couch, Tracie doing her best to console the young woman, while keeping her tears to a minimum and losing out fast.  
  
The only son of the Chief, Zachary, sat in his father's chair, staring at the wooden door that lead outside. He hadn't said anymore after that phone call, the one that told him his father wouldn't be coming back to the office.  
  
Ever.  
  
He had been stoic and serious as he told his sister and wife the news, then he had sat down in his father's chair and had reminaed there since. While the girls cried over the loss, Zach had just sat there. Shock could only be the word that could describe his mood. He couldn't believe it. Ever since he was a child, he thought his father would live forever. As he grew older, the belief that his father, the great Maxwell Smart, was invincible never really diminished.  
  
But now, thanks to that phone call, his worse fears were beginning to play out. He had never thought the day would come when he would need to tell his sister that their father was dead.  
  
And what of their mother, Mrs. Maxwell Smart?  
  
As the oldest and now the only male member, it was Zach's job to tell his mother the horrible news. But he couldn't, he just couldn't. If he and Maxine took the news hard, it would certainly kill Agent 99. And Zachary Smart would never intentionally hurt his mother.  
  
"Hey Zach?" came a crackle over the intercom.  
  
Taking his eyes away from the door for the first time, Zach heaved a heavy sigh as he pushed the button for the intercom. "I thought I said we weren't to be disturbed, Trudi." he replied.  
  
"Yes you did." she said. "But you said to tell you when your mother got here and she's here."  
  
"Zach..."  
  
Zach sighed again, glancing over at his wife and sister. Pushing the button again, he told Trudi, "Keep her there, Trudi. I'll be right out." Standing never felt so hard to Zach as he stood and made his way to the outer office.  
  
"Zach," his wife whispered. "At least do this in private and not out there."  
  
"It'll kill her." sobbed his sister.  
  
Zach took one last look before stepping outside.  
  
Before she even saw him, before he even walked over, Agent 99 knew something was wrong. "What's wrong?" she asked. When he didn't answer immediately, in fact he avoided all eye contact with her, she asked again, firmer. "Zachary, what's wrong? What is it?"  
  
"I need to talk to you." he whispered. "Why don't we go to lunch or something?"  
  
"I'm not hungry." she replied. "Zachary, look at me."

She turned him to face her. He glanced at her once and knew he couldn't go through with it. He couldn't tell his mother that her husband of 27 years, father of her children, former partner, her best friend was...  
  
"It's your father, isn't it?"  
  
Zach squirmed. _Damn her cognitive skills._ Even if he didn't say anything, she'd find out just by the way he was acting. "Zachary, I asked you a question." Zach gulped.  
  
"I really think we should discuss this somewhere else..."  
  
That's all she needed to hear. "What hospital?"  
  
Well, that did it. Zach couldn't hide his hurt or his pain. He shook his head, taking in a breath. "He's not in the hospital." he whispered, his voice strained with emotion. "He's not in any hospital."

* * *

  
  
Maxwell Smart awoke to a bright light. _"Oh no."_ he thought. _"This is it. This is the be all, end all. I can't believe it. I don't think I even kissed 99 goodbye..."  
_  
A muffled sound cause him to turn slightly, but when he did, it hurt. Making a small moan, he returned to his original position and stared up into the light. He did feel light headed, maybe that was supposed to happen. But he didn't feel himself rising. Maybe he was already in Heaven and had passed out from excitement.  
  
"Mr. Smart?"  
  
A face. A haggard face peered at him from above. He wore white and glasses and was looking at him.  
  
"Mr. Smart, are you awake?"  
  
"Are you an angel?" the agent asked horsely.  
  
The doctor laughed and looked to his right. A familiar face greeted Max, but not what he expected. "Is he going to be all right, Doctor?" the man asked.  
  
Max was confused, increasingly confused. A doctor, he could understand, but the current president of the United States? What the heck was he doing in Heaven? Max was trying to listen to what they were saying. Something about entrance wounds and heavily sedated...none of it made sense. The sounds soon drowned out as he was once again asleep.  
  
"He's out again." the doctor replied, checking Max's vitals.  
  
"But he'll be all right?" the president asked.  
  
"As I said," the doc began. "He lost a lot of blood and it was certainly a very close call. About an inch more to the left, he'd be dead. It was a clean shot, but the amount of blood loss could've killed him as well."  
  
"As I said, Doctor, it's imperative that Mr. Smart make a full, if not a stable recovery." The President replied.  
  
"I understand." the doctor nodded. "It makes sense for you to use us then." The doctor began to leave, but stopped before reaching the door. "Do you want me to contact his family? Let them know where he is?"  
  
"There won't be a need for it." the pres replied.  
  
Seeing the look on the doc's face, he amended, "It's already been done." The doctor, satisfied at the answer, nodded and left. The president walked over to Max and sighed.  
  
"Sir," his secret man spoke. "Are we really going to contact his family?"  
  
The president shook his head. "Not at the moment." he said. "We need Smart for this mission and knowing of his family and their name, it'll be better for all involved if everyone believes the great Maxwell Smart is dead." 


	3. Chapter III

**You Only Die Twice**

****

CHAPTER THREE

Shock.  
  
Was that the word?  
  
Yeah. Undeniable shock was what she was definitely feeling. Oh, there was hurt and sadness, of course, but above it all, there was shock. Years earlier, it might have been easy to take. _That's ridiculous,_ she thought to herself. This very thing HAD happened years earlier and she had been just as distraught.  
  
But they weren't married then. They didn't have children then or even grandchildren. They had been friends, yes, but that was it.  
  
Things were different now.  
  
They had been married for 27 years as of four months ago, though they had known each other for over 30 years. They had children together, thanks to Zach and Tracie, they now had grandchildren. They had spent much of their lives together...  
  
He couldn't be gone. He just couldn't.  
  
Zachary Smart wasn't going to cry. He was the oldest male member, as well as the senior agent. What good would he do by crying when the girls needed him? But he did feel like breaking down. It was bad enough that Maxine was crying, but having to tell his mother that the man she loved more than life itself was dead crushed him, seeing her cry crushed him.  
  
But there was more bubbling to the surface. His pain would wait. He needed to inflict pain on those that had done this to his family, to the company, to the world at large. There was a budding anger rising in the young agent and it seemed nothing would quelch it until he got to the bottom of this.  
  
"Zachary, did you even check all the hospitals?" came a weepy reply. Two sets of eyes looked over at him, hoping against hope...  
  
The young man shook his head sadly. "There was no need to." he replied, softly, starting up another round of tears from his mother.  
  
Just then, Agent 22 walked in. "I just heard." he said, rather quickly.  
  
"22, now is not the time." Tracie said, harshly. Agent 22 was not what they needed right now.  
  
"Zachary," the agent replied, watching as the man stood to face him. "From the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry." Zach nodded and began to turn away, until 22's next sentence stopped him.  
  
"That's why I hate to bring this up."  
  
"Now is not the time, 22!" 99 exclaimed.  
  
"If not now, then when?" the agent asked. "Mrs. Smart, I respected the Chief and I know we're all hurting from the loss, but reality needs to set in. We have no Chief, we have no leadership. You know as I, Control needs a leader, especially now. We need to get to the bottom of this."  
  
"We'll worry about it later, 22," Tracie sneered. "Now get out."  
  
"I think you need to worry about this now." 22 argued. "There's some talk going 'round. Agents are getting a little antsy. That's why I think..."  
  
The sentence was cut off, much to the surprise of the agent who was saying it. 22 was more surprised with how strong Zach seemed to be. He was currently being held against the wall by the latter's hand around his throat. 22 struggled to breath, but found Zach's thumb resting on the very lump that could kill him.  
  
"I could crush your larynx right now." Zach hissed, putting more pressure on the man's throat.  
  
"Zach, let him go!"  
  
"Now you listen to me, you bastard," Zach continued. "As of this moment, _I'm_ the acting Chief of Control until further notice and my first act as Chief is to give you an ultimatum." His hand began to slowly squeeze tighter around 22's neck. "You are to search high and low and bring back **anything** that could possibly tie in to who shot and killed my father. The alternative? I fire you. And when I fire you, I will come and find you and kill you myself. Is that understood?"  
  
Zach let go, causing 22 to couch and sputter. The agent nodded at his orders.  
  
"Now get out and do not come back until you have something I might want to listen to."  
  
Again 22 nodded and quickly left.  
  
Still on his emotional high, Zach walked determinately towards the desk and hit the loud speaker. "Attention all Control personal." he boomed. "As you may or may not have heard...the Chief of Control, Maxwell Smart, Agent 86...is dead. As senior agent of the agents section, President of the Control Agent's Guild, as well as the eldest Smart male...As of today, I assume the position of Chief until further notice. In the meantime, the active case of my father's murder will be assigned to me and that of a team of my choosing.  
  
"I want every agent working on something to do with this case. I want the names of the KAOS agents involved, I want the names of their family members, I want their addresses, hell I even want the dates of their birth. Leave nothing uncovered. I want them found."  
  
Hitting the off switch on the intercom, Zach placed his palms on the desk and leaned over. The war against KAOS had always raged in his heart, in his work, but now it was personal.  
  
There would be payback.


	4. Chapter IV

**You Only Die Twice**

****

CHAPTER FOUR

Max sat in his hospital bed, unable to move. He wanted to go home, that's what he wanted to do, but he couldn't. In the last couple of hours, he came to the realization that he was dead. His friends thought he was dead. And worse, his family thought he was dead.

_So?_ a small voice asked._ Years ago, it wouldn't have mattered_.

_But now it does_, he responded to himself. And it was the latter that was the important factor.  
  
His family.  
  
Before, his family (or what was left of them) wouldn't matter that much, but this time, they were everything to him and to know they were sitting somewhere, mourning him...  
  
Unbelievable.  
  
He was still fuzzy on what exactly happened, but from what the doctor had said and what the President had said, he had a picture. He had been ambushed, of course, at the warehouse. All of his training as an agent should've made him more cautious, instead he had made a mistake that nearly cost him his life. That only put him in more of a foul mood than before.  
  
That mistake...that mistake had landed him here, in this hospital he didn't even knew existed. The President had told him this was a facility for high security personal. It had been built with the intention if any high ranking officials ever got injured and needed to recover without the world being aware of their injuries.  
  
Or even deaths.  
  
The President then went on to tell Max that everyone now thought and knew to be fact that he, Maxwell Smart, was dead. Shot in a warehouse stakeout in the early morning hours. When Max protested, the President had told him of the plans that he had for the former agent turned Chief.  
  
A martial arts group known as the Crazy 88s had made camp, so to speak, in Washington, DC. The group was bad enough, but it seemed KAOS had also caught wind of the group's arrival, way before the government had and was currently financing their living expenses and what not. The President believed they were held up at the warehouse Max had been staking out. It would be assumed that Max's shooter was one of the members of the Crazy 88s.  
  
As the President went on about how his death would now make it easy to spy on the warehouse, Max was growing more and more angry and frustrated. How in the world would he be able to tell his family about his situation?  
  
He wouldn't.  
  
But what about his wife? She'd go crazy.  
  
She'd get over it.  
  
It was out of the question.  
  
It was his job. As Chief, as well as a former agent of Control, his duty was to serve his country first. No questions asked.

And that was the end of THAT conversation.  
  
So the President had left Max in his room, assured the man knew his duty and was to adhere to it, which of course Max would have to. It was fairly common knowledge that if not for his wife in Congress, Control would've gone down the drain of loss years ago. It was partly 99's backing that got him to the position he was now. Together they had made sure the twins could be active agents.  
  
Max shook his head. He'd be adament the next time the President came calling. He wouldn't do this assignment, not if it meant his family would suffer believing him to be dead. He couldn't put them through that. He knew what it was like when a family losses one of its members due to the violence of being a Control agent. Hell, he'd been to the majority of the funerals! He hated the looks on those faces.  
  
Swinging his legs over the side, he felt some minor stiffness. With determination in his eyes, he decided then and there.  
  
He would be talking to his family.


End file.
